offshorebirder
5,013

This past April 20, I had a wonderful encounter with a Bobcat. While I was watching a Ruff (European shorebird vagrant that is another story), the Bobcat appeared at the end of a dike between two former ricefield impoundments, at Bear Island Wildlife Management Area in coastal South Carolina.

The Bobcat kept pausing to look back over its shoulder as it hustled down the dike towards me, and I used one of the backward glances to raise my camera into position. No other humans were around so I suspect a Coyote, wild boar (feral hog), or another Bobcat was the source of its concern.

The Bobcat turned off on a side path just before it reached me. I was downwind of the Bobcat, wearing shirt and pants with a grassland camoflague pattern. By standing stock-still, I managed to elude the notice of the Bobcat.

The photos show features like the little white ear patches that allow kittens to follow their mother through thick cover (like certain other big cat species). It was early on a cloudy morning, so unfortunately the photos are a tad grainy.

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marg
3,123

marg
3,123

Cool! We have had a few bobcat sightings here in the California desert..photos submitted somewhere. But, we have had no white spots on the ears. And, your cat looks slightly larger. On our first sighting we thought that it was a domestic cat.

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Atdahl
3,018

Atdahl
3,018

@@offshorebirder, very nice sighting. I love bobcats...they sure get the heart pounding when you see one especially if you are walking towards you which is pretty rare in my experience. We saw our first bobcat at Bosque del Apache in new Mexico and have been lucky enough to see dozens in and around Pt Reyes in Northern California. I never tire of them. congrats on such a nice series of photos.

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ld1
1,212

ld1
1,212

@@graceland, sounds beautiful. I've unintentionally managed to get to the four corners of the US, but never the big bits in the middle. Alaska was pretty wild though, but we never saw a moose; who goes to Alaska and doesn't see a moose!

wow @@marg - great to have such wildlife in your yard! I bet you do not have any feral housecats in your neighborhood!

@@Atdahl - I missed seeing any Bobcats at Bosque Del Apache but did see some in multiple trips to Southeast Arizona (in particular one that lingered at Arivaca Cienega). I spent a lot of time in the field at Point Reyes when I lived in San Francisco but never saw a Bobcat there - you must have a way with them.

@@graceland touches upon a great way to see wildlife - from horseback. So many creatures (especially shy birds) assume you are part of the horse and their body + scent + sounds help hide your human presence. But forget photography from horseback!

One of the best video sequences I ever shot was a female Bobcat trotting towards my vehicle down a dike (at the Yawkey Wildlife Center). She was carrying a rat that swung back and forth in her jaws - probably carrying it to her cub. I need to get around to replacing my broken Mini-DV camcorder so I can transfer that and other footage to digital. I'll post the video to ST when I do.

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marg
3,123

marg
3,123

@@offshorebirder...you are correct. There are no feral cats here. With an occasional bobcat sighting and a healthy coyote population no cats and small dogs are safe out on their own. Even our cottontail and jack rabbit numbers are low at this time.

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